jmeineke Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Got to play with joining copper with a torch. I half-lapped the beam and the arm (using a grinder) and then used a small oxy torch to fuse the beams together. I then textured it to give it a wood grain look and then added some flattened copper wire to the center to give it a little character. I finished it off by flame coloring and then applied a coating of beeswax / linseed. Not sure if it's going to get mounted on a base or if I'll put a hanger on the back for a wall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fe-Wood Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Nice looking Cross! Don't you just love the way Copper heat patinas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marksnagel Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Really beautiful cross! What size is it? Mark<>< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmeineke Posted May 18, 2011 Author Share Posted May 18, 2011 Mark - Thanks. It's not very big - only about 6 inches tall. Fe - Yeah, the colors you can bring out in copper are pretty amazing. I'm starting to figure out how to get the deep, rich colors I want. The key for me has been getting it to a temp where the color disappears (basically just looks like copper again) and then remove the heat and wait - the color starts to appear. Then I hit it with a little bit of air from my compressor and that stops it from changing more. It's not a perfect process but I've been able to capture some of the deeper colors that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wshelley Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Very nice, love the texture! Just curious, fused or silver soldered? More details please... Ward Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmeineke Posted May 18, 2011 Author Share Posted May 18, 2011 Thanks, Ward. It's fused. I half-lapped the joints like in the picture below and and then used peices of copper wire as filler (I cut small pieces and put them over the slits where the joints didn't quite fit up). I then added some borax for flux, heated the whole thing up with a plumbers torch to red hot and then fused the joints with a mapp / oxy torch. I had to flip it and do the other side the same way. The last copper project I worked on (a heart for a gal who wanted to give a gift to her aunt) was brazed together with brass rod and in order to get it to look like it was supposed to be that way I brazed brass on random areas to make it blend in. I didn't want to do that with this peice, so I decided to fuse the copper with an oxy torch, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wshelley Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Thanks for the extra info. Neat project! Ward Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trying-it Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 Real nice! Thanks for showing the pics and sharing the how-to info! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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